One of the things, that I really enjoy about attending discussions like this one is that the passion, innovation, and creativity held by the folks on the stage becomes palpable and you get to take home with you - gotta love the library!

Roo Rogers kicked off the discussion by noting how humanity as a whole is kind and generous, people want to share, and that is integral to the whole social component of the web.

He also spoke about how before consumption become a widespread phenomena within society about 50-60 years ago, institutions such as the NYPL were a font of collective knowledge that was shared publicly, and that we are witnessing a shift back to that sort of public access of information online and IRL. (Wikileaks, anyone?)

Naveen Selvadurai ascertained that the distinction between online and offline (or IRL) is no longer applicable. We are constantly plugged in. Networks like Foursquare, Facebook, and smartphones have made the boundary between the two blurred.

Another thing he noted is that while many people poke fun at the game aspect of Foursquare or trivialize it, it is after all, only one layer built on top of a service that is fundamentally about "social," connecting with others off the web -- the game is just a fun incentive or token to get users to engage and partake in the community.

You can learn more about the cool events and year-long benefits of being a NYPL Young Lion member (such as movie screenings, panel discussions, private tours of the Library, the Young Lions Fiction Award ceremony and more) at nypl.org, and in addition to that, you will will help the Library provide free access to the tens of millions of visitors in New York and worldwide who visit both online and in person.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Thursday, December 16, 2010

The human rights abuses occurring along the U.S. border with Mexico will be front and center for a group of Southern Methodist University students who, starting Jan. 2, will spend two weeks confronting a multitude of migrant issues in Arizona.

As part of the Embrey Human Rights Program, in SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, eight students will visit the border and desert areas of Tucson and Yuma to study firsthand the deteriorating conditions spawned by economic and political unrest.

“This is a new trip for us,” said director Rick Halperin. “These issues will be with us for years to come, and as such, our program intends to bring our students to the border to better learn about what is happening there. It also will allow them to get involved in the struggle to end human rights violations.”
Led by associate director Patricia H. Davis, students will spend time with the minister-founder of Humane Borders, regional detectives and medical examiners, U.S. Border Patrol agents, and representatives from the Department of Homeland Security.

After the project, students will write research papers “to individualize their experiences” while earning course credit, Halperin said. “This trip is very different than others we have organized, in that it confronts domestic human rights issues,” he added. “Our other trips abroad confront global issues.”

Three times a year, Embrey Human Rights Program participants—including SMU students, faculty and staff, as well as interested members of the community—visit historic areas where human rights violations have occurred, such as Holocaust sites, or places where they continue to unfold, such as Rwanda, Cambodia and Argentina.

The program’s next trip, March 12-20, will include visits to numerous Holocaust sites throughout Germany.

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

The El Barrio Firehouse will be a state-of-the-art media center providing local residents with full access to new communications technologies.

In 2007, MNN acquired the historic El Barrio-East Harlem Firehouse in Upper Manhattan. Renovation is underway to create a state-of-the-art Community Media Center. The Firehouse center will offer equitable access to new media skills and training services to local residents and community-based organizations, helping to overcome the digital divide and empower residents and local neighborhoods through access to media.

The five-story Firehouse media center will include:
* Three Live Broadcast & Production Studios
* A Large Multi-Purpose Meeting, Exhibition & Performance Space
* Editing, Camera and Studio Facilities
* Broadband Access and Training
A key component of the new Firehouse will be a stand-alone Youth Media Center, offering New Economy skills and job training to young people between the ages of 12-25.

The Youth Media Center will also produce 20-hours a week of programming made by youth, for youth, that will air on MNN's four cablecast channels to more than 600,000 subscribers in Manhattan. The Firehouse is slated to open in mid-2011.

The Firehouse is located in the historic Manhattan neighborhood of El Barrio-East Harlem at 175 East 104th Street between Lexington Ave. and 3rd Ave.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

This experimental documentary by Cortlan McManus, shot over a year's time, examines both the art of New York's most famous urban artist as well as presents
the ethics of documentary. De La Vega is known as a sidewalk provocateur, a
mural master and a Cornell educated painter. Born in Spanish Harlem, De La Vega
is personally familiar with living the life in the urban jungle: poverty, AIDS,
and violence mixed with a side of ingenious wit, good natured humor and a
propensity to produce massive amounts of work.

"Become Your Dream: James De La
Vega" also examines and reflects on the ethics that rule all documentaries:
who's economic gain; political representation of self and the other; and most
importantly, the differences in vision that can result between subject and
object. Captured and presented for the first time so that a broader conversation
can begin about the ethics of documentary.

(Note: I make a cameo appearance around 6:18 minutes in and later on you can hear part of my interview with him)

Who is Literanista?

Valerie M. Russo

New York, NY, United States

A native New Yorker born to Puerto Rican & Sicilian parents in Spanish Harlem's El Barrio, Literanista is a Social Media Strategist, a published poet/writer, has worked at Hachette Book Group, Aol, Thomson Reuters and scouts the web for multicultural literary news, tech trends, innovation, working on her debut novel & about a million other things.

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Disclosure

* All content on Literanista is strictly based on my sole personal opinion & beliefs & not those of my employer. I sometimes receive advance release copies of books, media, and products for promotion purposes.